SWANSBORO — There seems to be a brick wall preventing girls’ soccer teams from scoring against Swansboro.

And that wall is cemented by three underclassmen defenders and junior goalkeeper Roxanne Green, all of whom who have helped the Pirates (22-5-1) advance to the NCHSAA 2-A championship game against South Iredell (22-2).

Swansboro enters Saturday’s state final at N.C. State University’s Dail Soccer Stadium having shut out its last nine opponents thanks to a defensive backfield that has “stepped up,” coach Doug Kidd said.

“They’re playing very mature and they’re playing very intelligent and just working for each other,” he said. “The communication has been a lot better.”

And thanks in large part to the defensive efforts by sophomores Haley Stewart and Kanani Thomas and freshman Abby Taylor, along with Green between the pipes, Swansboro is back in the state final for the first time since winning its second of two straight titles in 2010.

The Pirates know that if they are to defeat South Iredell, they will again need to defend well and limit the Vikings’ scoring opportunities.

“I think we just need to play the way we have been playing,” Green said. “We have been playing really well. We work together really well. We need to communicate and make sure we have each others’ backs.

“Kanani is always able to keep them outside, and if Haley goes forward, Abby and Kanani drop back and cover. It’s a key point because it’s like we have each others’ backs.”

That also includes in practice.

“Every practice we tend to go over our shape,” Stewart said. “I feel like that is what has been keeping us strong.”

Given its shutout streak, which started with a 9-0 win over South Lenoir on April 23, Swansboro’s back line enters the state final with confidence.

“We just need to continue to play the way we have been playing, which is with our confidence levels (high),” Stewart said. “I’ve been stepping up my confidence level and trying to direct the team and try to take charge there and Roxanne has obviously helped back there by directing. Abby and Kanani have been playing aggressive and being confident.”

And while the Pirates’ run of consecutive shutouts is impressive, Swansboro’s defense has played well for most of the season.

Swansboro has 16 shutouts overall, and only five times have an opponent scored more than one goal against the Pirates. For the record, two of those games were 3-0 losses to Clinton and to 3-A Wilson Hunt. Another was a 4-0 loss at 3-A Jacksonville.

“We’ve always been good at working together, but something just clicked one day,” Green said. “It just clicked.”

Page 2 of 2 - Swansboro’s attacking players have noticed that, too.

“I think Haley’s confidence has helped her a lot, and Abby and Kanani are both just awesome,” senior midfielder Julianna Tucker said. “They can judge the game and know where to be at, and they use their speed and their physicality.”

Kidd agreed that each defender brings something different to the table but said they also share some of the same strengths.

“They bring very good soccer experience, despite being young players, because they’ve played at good levels,” Kidd said. “They’re very athletic and they are very smart and they have learned very quickly this year. It seems like every time we touch the field, they get better and better.”

Then there’s Green, who is in her first year as the starting goalkeeper, replacing her sister, Jake, in the net.

“What impresses us most about Roxanne is that she’ll come up with a save when it’s her first save of the game and she’s cold,” Kidd said. “But she will make that massive save.

“In the Richlands game (a 2-0 Swansboro win April 18), we didn’t start off strong and Richlands was all over us. They got a breakaway and she came out and stuffs it. She comes up with massive saves like that when we need it the most.”

Green said her favorite moments in the nine-game shutout streak were a 4-0 playoff win over Croatan and 1-0 playoff victory at Clinton.

But Green hopes for even better memories from the state final, which she hopes includes another shutout.

“It’s amazing to believe that we’ve done this and I hope it continues through state,” she said. “I hope that we don’t get scored on. I really want the 10th one.”